Security forces were searching for the gunmen, he said. The two dead included a paramilitary officer and a policeman who died in hospital.Militants have carried out several attacks in recent weeks, the largest of which was a September 18 raid on an Indian army base that killed 19 soldiers.

On Wednesday, gunmen shot dead a political party worker in Kashmir, hours after two suspected militants were killed by armed forces following a 56-hour operation on the edge of Srinagar.